This class is used to protect Kerberos services and the credentials necessary to access those services.

Package javax.security.auth.kerberos Description

This package contains utility classes related to the Kerberos network authentication protocol. They do not provide much Kerberos support themselves.

The Kerberos network authentication protocol is defined in RFC 4120. The Java platform contains support for the client side of Kerberos via the org.ietf.jgss package. There might also be a login module that implements LoginModule to authenticate Kerberos principals.

You can provide the name of your default realm and Key Distribution Center (KDC) host for that realm using the system properties java.security.krb5.realm and java.security.krb5.kdc. Both properties must be set. Alternatively, the java.security.krb5.conf system property can be set to the location of an MIT style krb5.conf configuration file. If none of these system properties are set, the krb5.conf file is searched for in an implementation-specific manner. Typically, an implementation will first look for a krb5.conf file in <java-home>/lib/security and failing that, in an OS-specific location.